Effect of pre harvest treatments on carotene content of pumpkin juice

Abstract

Phytochemical factually means “Plant chemicals”. Vegetables have immense beneficial properties for human health, because of the presence of phytochemicals. These phytochemicals typically consist of a wide array of phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, alpha tocopherol and carotenoids, and have been shown to promote health and provide protection against a various list of diseases. Considering the nutraceutical property of cucurbit vegetables, the present study was focused on pumpkin fruit and analyzed the effect of pre harvest application of micronutrient mixture and potassium nitrate at 1% on six different cultivars (CO 1, Arka Chandan, Pumpkin big, Yellow big, Pennadam local and Melur local) with two stage of application (flowering and fruiting stages) along with control. The study revealed that application of micronutrient mixture with potassium nitrate (1%) during fruiting stage of Arka Chandan variety results in reduced reduction of carotene content from initial stage with highest durability of 50 days under packed condition.